Myanmar

Vincent Thian/Associated Press

The Republic of the Union of Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, is the second largest country in Southeast Asia and boasts a population of more than 50 million. Myanmar emerged from British colonial rule in 1948, and has remained under military control since General Ne Win overthrew the civilian government in a 1968 coup. The country’s modern history has been marred by persistent human rights violations, ethnic strife, cronyism and failed Soviet-style economic management that has resulted in widespread poverty.

Myanmar’s military has made gradual moves in recent years toward relinquishing control of the government, releasing thousands of political prisoners, including dissident leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. This reduced authoritarianism has prompted an easing of international sanctions and widespread hope of improvement in the country, though concerns remain about the treatment of its Rohingya Muslim minority.

Keep up to date on breaking news in Myanmar and explore our extensive archive below.

Chronology of Coverage

Jul. 31, 2015

More than 150 Chinese citizens sentenced to life in prison for illegal logging in Myanmar are suddenly released as part of broader amnesty. MORE

Jul. 20, 2015

Memo from Yangon; Burmese language does not contain many words related to modern commerce and politics, result of highly-censored, authoritarian era when Myanmar was largely cut off from rest of world; language blocks have proved liability as country seeks to open itself to progress. MORE

Jul. 10, 2015

Jul. 6, 2015

Decision by Rohingya Muslim Hasinah Izhar to leave her oldest child Jubair behind when fleeing Myanmar, where government considers millions of Rohingya illegal settlers, is example of anguished choices and harrowing experiences facing the minority population; Jubair is now a servant for a family in Rakhine State, and rest of his family is in Malaysia, where they are safer but still face uncertain future. MORE

Jun. 29, 2015

China and India have adopted striking passivity in face of Southeast Asian refugee crisis, withholding support as thousands of Rohingya Muslims flee religious persecution in Myanmar; have also refused to pressure Myanmar's government into reform or to play roll in resettling efforts; refusal belies complex political issues but is nonetheless in contrast to past humanitarian efforts by both nations. MORE

Jun. 26, 2015

Myanmar's military reasserts its power over country, blocking effort to rescind its veto power in Parliament and refusing to ease laws that prevent opposition leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi from becoming president. MORE

Jun. 13, 2015

Myanmar's government, responding to international pressure, says it will restrict exodus of Rohingya Muslims fleeing religious persecution and related human trafficking operations; government, however, has given no indication that it intends to address deplorable conditions driving Rohingya to leave. MORE

Jun. 12, 2015

Myanmar opposition leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi meets with Chinese Pres Xi Jinping at Great Hall of the People during her five-day visit to Beijing; Communist Party leader Xi says visit will help promote ties between two countries. MORE

Jun. 6, 2015

Asia World, powerful company behind many development projects in Myanmar, formerly had ties to country's heroin trade, illustrating how drug trafficking is inextricably linked to country's efforts to rebuild and move on from troubled past; while there is no evidence to suggest company has current ties to drug trafficking, drug trade still remains involved with nation's many development projects. MORE

Jun. 5, 2015

Myanmar's military discharges 51 child soldiers, raising total number of discharges to 93 so far in 2015; government has discharged 646 children from army since 2012 joint pact with United Nations to stop enlisting child soldiers. MORE

Jun. 4, 2015

Rohingya migrants who have recently fled persecution in Myanmar and safely joined some 75,000 fellow Rohingya in Malaysia continue to struggle under their status as refugees and unregistered migrants; barred from sending their children to government schools and unable to hold jobs legally, they face a long resettlement process and a bleak future. MORE

May. 30, 2015

Meeting held in Bangkok with delegates from 17 governments results in commitment by all participants to address primary causes of crisis created by exodus of migrants and refugees from Myanmar and Bangladesh. MORE

May. 29, 2015

May. 29, 2015

Editorial calls on South Asian governments of Bangladesh, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia and particularly Myanmar to alter policies that have led to rampant human trafficking in region, forcing thousands of migrants to take to sea to find refuge; calls government of Myanmar one of worst offenders, with systematic persecution of Rohingya Muslims driving 140,000 from their homes and making them highly vulnerable to traffickers. MORE

May. 28, 2015

International aid organizations are concerned about future of migrants from Bangladesh and Myanmar living in Indonesian refugee camps, particularly with government's announcement to keep migrants for one year; apprehensive migrants will remain in makeshift camps designed for temporary, short-term emergency housing and want government to move them into medium-term housing solutions. MORE

May. 27, 2015

Signs point to possibility that Southeast Asian migrant crisis is easing; Malaysian and Indonesian search-and rescue vessels have sighted no more refugees from Bangladesh and Myanmar at sea. MORE

May. 26, 2015

More than 3,000 migrants from Bangladesh and Myanmar who were adrift at sea are now waiting in bureaucratic limbo in Indonesia and Malaysia that could continue indefinitely; few countries want to take migrants and there is huge logjam of applicants seeking resettlement. MORE

May. 26, 2015

Malaysian police discover more than 139 mass graves thought to contain bodies of Rohingya migrants from Myanmar who died in smugglers' camps near border with Thailand. MORE

May. 23, 2015

Myanmar announces seizure of boat carrying 208 Bangladeshi migrants and detention of all passengers; some Rohingya say members of their ethnic group were on boats as well. MORE

May. 22, 2015

Myanmar's government agrees to attend Thailand conference addressing humanitarian crisis of migrants stranded at sea in Southeast Asia, reversing previous refusal to attend any conference specifically mentioning plight of ethnic Rohingyans; conference will use term 'irregular migrants' instead of Rohingyans, placating Myanmar's refusal to recognize group as citizens; Rohingyans fleeing Rakhine State to avoid ethnic persecution make up proportion of stranded migrants. MORE

May. 16, 2015

International Organization for Migration says boat carrying hundreds of migrants fleeing Myanmar has returned to sea after Thai authorities say people on boat told them they wanted to try to reach Malaysia; boat is part of flotilla that is carrying some of the estimated 6,000 to 20,000 people fleeing persecution in Myanmar and poverty in Bangladesh. MORE

May. 15, 2015

Boat carrying hundreds of migrants from Myanmar is seen drifting in Andaman Sea off Malaysia after authorities turn them away, part of exodus of thousands of people in past weeks; migrants, most of them Rohingya, have little food or water and were abandoned by boat's captain and crew; no country has been willing to take them in. MORE

May. 14, 2015

Nicholas Kristof Op-Ed column criticizes governments in America and Asia for failing to intervene in refugee crisis of Myanmar's Rohingya minority; observes thousands of Rohingya are fleeing persecution in their home country, and many have died at sea after smugglers abandoned boats because neighboring countries have closed their ports; calls on Pres Obama to push nations in region to acknowledge crisis and to rescue and shelter the refugees. MORE

May. 13, 2015

Indonesian Navy turns back migrant ship carrying thousands of passengers; experts caution that thousands of arriving refugees from Myanmar and Bangladesh could be stranded at sea. MORE

May. 13, 2015

Editorial observes that some 8,000 refugees have been abandoned at sea by smugglers as Thailand cracks down on human trafficking; notes while regional governments are finally taking steps to curb trafficking, they are showing little mercy for victims; argues root problem is Myanmar's mistreatment of its Muslim Rohingya population, of which some 140,000 have been driven from their homes by violence. MORE

May. 12, 2015

Refugees from Myanmar and Bangladesh numbering over 1,000 have infiltrated Malaysia and Indonesia, many of whom are of Muslim Rohingya ethnic minority who were persecuted and denied citizenship in home countries. MORE

Apr. 6, 2015

Thomas L Friedman Op-Ed column relates details of interview with Pres Obama in wake of draft nuclear agreement with Iran, calling it greatest opportunity to thaw relations with country in decades; observes consistent 'Obama doctrine' embedded in administration's pursuit of engagement with long-isolated nations like Burma, Cuba and now Iran; cites Obama's defense of his policy, including its implications for Israel, and its outlook for support in Congress. MORE

Apr. 4, 2015

Myanmar opposition leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi does not rule out possibility that her National League for Democracy party could boycott upcoming national elections if military-drafted Constitution is not changed. MORE

Apr. 3, 2015

Myanmar apologizes to China for cross-border bombing that killed four Chinese farmers. MORE

Mar. 22, 2015

Myanmar Army has been fighting rebels of Kokang, Chinese ethnic group that has lived in mountains of northern Myanmar for more than 400 years; battle, which has been going on for past six weeks, has created tens of thousands of refugees and ill will with China. MORE

Mar. 21, 2015

Editorial warns Myanmar appears to be backsliding on promises of democratic reform, as evidenced by several troubling developments; points to March crackdown on pro-democratic protestors, Pres Thein Sein's effective revocation of Rohingya minority's voting rights and constitutional provision preventing opposition leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi from running for president; urges country to renew its dedication to reforms ahead of May elections. MORE

Mar. 19, 2015

United Nations investigator warns that Myanmar is reversing democratic reforms, citing arrests and harsh treatment of people critical of country's government and military. MORE

Mar. 18, 2015

Court in Myanmar sentences Philip Blackwood of New Zealand and U Tun Thurein and U Htut Ko Ko Lwin to two years in prison each for using image of Buddha wearing headphones to promote event at bar where they worked; court rules that image violated country's law against insulting, damaging or destroying religion. MORE

Mar. 15, 2015

Ferry capsizes in Myanmar, killing 34 people and leaving at least a dozen missing. MORE

Mar. 15, 2015

Chinese Gen Fan Changlong warns Myanmar of a strong response over bombing in Xinhua, China, and demands thorough inquiry and harsh punishment for those found responsible. MORE

Mar. 14, 2015

Four people are killed and nine injured when warplane from Myanmar releases bombs on sugar cane field in renewed conflict between government of Myanmar and supporters of ethnic Chinese minority Kokang. MORE

Feb. 20, 2015

Study published in journal The Lancet Infectious Diseases finds that drug artemisinin, world's most effective treatment for malaria, is losing its efficacy in much larger swath of territory than was previously believed; area where deadliest form of disease is increasingly resistant to drug includes part of Cambodia, Myanmar and India. MORE

Feb. 18, 2015

Myanmar Pres Thein Sein, reacting to deadly fighting between army and ethnic Kokang force Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army, declares state of emergency and imposes martial law in eastern Kokang; since violence began in early February, civilians are fleeing to China raising concerns about influx of refugees there. MORE

Feb. 14, 2015

Clashes between government soldiers in Myanmar and armed ethnic Chinese minority Kokang near China's border leave more than 50 soldiers and police officers dead. MORE

Feb. 13, 2015

Local media in Myanmar report that 47 government soldiers have been killed and more than 70 others wounded in battles between Myanmar troops and Kokang rebels near Chinese border. MORE

Jan. 25, 2015

Orville Schell travel article describes trip to northern Myanmar, area that is unique for its lush jungles, clean flowing river and nature conservation parks. MORE

Jan. 24, 2015

Editorial warns that China’s voracious consumption of Myanmar’s natural resources threatens to damage its environment and lives of citizens; points to dwindling forests and wild animal populations, as well as exploitation of local workers; says protests by people of Myanmar shows that they object to plunder of their country, and calls for Pres Thein Sein to stop corruption and cronyism. MORE

Jan. 20, 2015

Chinese news services say that hundreds of Chinese have been stranded in northeastern Myanmar due to fighting between Myanmar's army and ethnic Kachin guerillas over area's jade mines. MORE

Jan. 17, 2015

DVD vendors in Yangon, Myanmar, say that police, occasionally accompanied by North Korean officials, are cracking down on pirated copies of controversial movie The Interview; comedy about fictitious CIA plot to kill North Korea's leader Kim Jong-un had been best seller but is now disappearing from larger stores as result of what appears to be pressure from North Korea. MORE

Jan. 4, 2015

Poppy cultivation and opium it produces have flourished in Myanmar over past decade as many farmers turn to profitable crop; growing opium poppies is illegal in Myanmar, once the world’s largest supplier of heroin, but poor farmers say they have no other option; China is main market for superior quality of opium grown in 'Golden Triangle,' area that cuts across Myanmar, Thailand and Laos. MORE

Dec. 23, 2014

Daw Khin Win, woman protesting expansion of Chinese copper mine in Myanmar, is shot and killed by security forces. MORE

Dec. 14, 2014

Many colonial-era buildings in Yangon, Myanmar, are in disrepair, prompting a preservation campaign; Thant Myint-U, head of Yangon Heritage Trust, insists conservation of the buildings would make Yangon a star attraction of Southeast Asia. MORE

Dec. 7, 2014

U Htein Lin was detained for more than six years in Myanmar as a political prisoner, but has recently returned to teach meditation to prisoners and guards; says that meditation helped him survive his own incarceration, and that he wanted to pass on that skill to others. MORE

Dec. 2, 2014

Much of wealth generated by Myanmar's booming jade industry is in control of elite members of military, rebel leaders and Chinese financiers who help them smuggle billions of dollars' worth of the gem into China; corrupt trade has robbed government of billions in tax revenues, fed violent ethnic conflict and mired members of Kachin minority, who work the mines, in poverty, heroin addiction and HIV infection. MORE

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General Information on Myanmar

Official Name: Union of Myanmar (formerly Union of Burma)
Capital: Naypyidaw (Current local time)
Government Type: Military - dominated
Chief of State: Than Shwe, chairman of State Peace and Development Council
Population: 47.37 million
Area: 421,600 square miles; slightly smaller than Texas
Languages: Burmese, minority ethnic groups have their own languages
GDP Per Capita: $1,800
Year of Independence: 1948

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President Thein Sein declared four regions in western and central Myanmar as disaster zones as the government continued to face criticism for its slow response to floods and landslides across the country.

Some 140,000 Rohingya Muslims, who face official discrimination in Myanmar, are confined to a squalid government encampment in Sittwe. Impoverished, desperate and virtually imprisoned, tens of thousands have fled, setting out on a risky sea voyage in search of a better life. Many are still missing.